The adult industry is impressionistic at best. Most of the participants are private entrepreneurs or freelancers under no obligation to disclose anything. Yet, the porn industry is remarkably growing by the day and people who have been able to remain smart in their businesses are raking in millions annually.
A 2012 survey by Xbiz.net showed that annual revenues in the industry stood at $5 billion worldwide. This included sales and rentals of DVDs, video-on-demand, membership-based earnings, and live webcams, pay-per-view movie both on cable and on satellite.
Considering that this was three years ago, you can only imagine that such figures have increased by now. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Recent stat showss that that industry has taken a hit in the recent past and average sales are declining rather than increasing. DVD sales, for example, have dropped significantly due to piracy and the enormous amount of free offerings
online. Even rentals have taken a big hit.
“The market is evolving,” says Jason Maskell, a former make-up artist. “The industry is becoming innovative. In the past few years, we have had to change in response to free content.” Jason is currently trying to launch a crowdfunding platform (AdultXfund) that can be used by the adult industry. He hopes that crowdfunding would provide an alternative source of finance to traditional banks which, he says, are “highly capricious” when lending to businesses in the adult sector.
Those who have remained profitable in the industry are bullish on the future of the market. They all agree that times are hard and that industry players need to find innovative ways if they are to increase revenue. However, they also think that if entrepreneurs in the industry can stay on their feet and look at alternative sources of revenue then it can only be a matter of time before they were celebrating success.
A few options currently being explored include social media, mobile technology, and expansion into live webcams and online dating. Those who are already earning through live webcams use adult stream merchant accounts to receive payment from consumers. Just like the rest of the entertainment industry that has been hit hard by digital distortion, strong branding is essential to for a rewarding success. The distortion has had a profound effect on the rates paid to performers and models.
“You need to find six or seven revenue streams in order o stay up,” says Maskell. “Otherwise you may be closing down soon.”